Sandra Meadow, LVN
LVN Sandra Meadow, who celebrates 15 years with La Hacienda Treatment Center this year, has been a nurse for 41 years. When she was 15, she began
Sandra Meadow has been a nurse since 1980. As with much of her life, family played a major role in her career choice.
“My mother was a nurse at a nursing home,” says Sandra. “ When I was 15, I would go to work with her. I loved interacting with the patients and doing caregiving tasks. When I turned 16, they started paying me for my work.”
A Nursing Career While Raising a Family
After becoming a licensed vocational nurse, Sandra worked in a hospital, serving everywhere except the operating room. She changed to working in a doctor’s office for 12 years while her children were in school.
She took a year off for her son’s senior year of high school, then worked one year at an Alzheimer’s assisted-living facility before coming to La Hacienda in April 2006
Sandra started at La Hacienda as a parttime/as-needed employee, training for several positions. She moved to fulltime nursing her second year, serving in all nursing department positions.
Likes the Staff Camaraderie
With Sandra’s strong feeling about family ties, it’s no surprise that she uses “family” when talking about her co-workers at La Hacienda.
“I love the camaraderie between staff, it’s like having a huge family! The way everyone works together to accomplish our mission makes my heart happy.”
Working in addiction treatment is also special to Sandra because her two brothers and a sister have substance use disorders. Two of them are in recovery. Unfortunately, a younger brother died from his addiction in 2021.
Longtime Hill Country Resident
Born in Lubbock, Sandra also lived in Vermont and South Carolina, before moving to the Texas Hill Country in 1974.
She has been married for almost 43 year–she met her husband when she started working at the hospital where he was also a nurse. They have a daughter, a son, and five grandchildren (her most favorite things), and two cats. The family lives on a ranch with lots of Hill Country wildlife.
At home, Sandra cares for her grandkids and elderly mother. Her hobbies include repurposing thrift store finds, sewing, painting, and making jams and jellies.